A Place of Praise...

A place of praise...they each found it, Mary and Zechariah.  They started at different places,belief and unbelief; and yet they ended in the same spot- glorifying God. This strikes me as funny that God directs not only belief, but more importantly, disbelief into praise in His chosen.  Hail Mary, full of grace - she has the right response from the beginning.  And the Zechariah, the priest and example, he wavers and kerfaphels and ends up right where Mary, itty bitty girlie, started.  Isn't is appropriate that God tells us the story upside down, because all of the story is upside down.  Strong become weak, that weak can be made strong.  So today, whether our weakness is shored in strength and we look in hope to His salvation or we are indeed, on the other shore, looking on at Christmas present in sadness and disbelief, with our weaknesses as yet, seemingly unsupported; His truth will always be true. Whereever we are, belief or unbelief, if we are His, and we are; and  we will end in a place of praise to Him and Him alone. He is I AM, There is no other.

HYMN 17

The Song of Mary

Luke 1:46-55

 

Magnificat                                                                                                  Strasbourg, 1539

1. My soul will magnify

the Lord, who from on high

has blessed me with his favour.

His praises I will voice;

my spirit will rejoice

in him, my God and Saviour.

 

2. The Lord, so good and great,

looked on my lowly state.

Now will all generations

from age to age attest

how richly I am blest. 

Great is my exaltation!                                                      

 

3. How holy is his name!

The Mighty One, he came

and showed me his great favour.

With mercy he is near

to all who him revere;

his love endures forever.

 

4. His arm revealed his might,

for he has put to flight

all those who are proud-hearted,

and he pulled haughty ones

down from their lofty thrones;

the lowly he supported.                                                                           

 

5. Abundant gifts the Lord

has on the hungry poured;

their suffering he has ended.

The rich he sent away;

he, much to their dismay,

let them go empty-handed.

 

6. The Lord is merciful;

his servant Israel

he graciously delivered,

remembering evermore

what he to Abraham swore

and to his seed forever.

 

HYMN 18

The Song of Zechariah

Luke 1:68-79

 

1.  Blest be the God of Israel,

for he has come to set us free;

in David’s house the Lord has raised

salvation’s horn for all to see.

He through his prophets long ago

said he would save us from our foe,

from all who scorn and hate us.

He has not put our fathers’ faith to shame

but, in his love remembering them,

has kept the oath he swore to Abraham.

 

2.  His faithfulness he has now shown,

that we might serve him without fear,

that all our days with upright hearts

we in his presence might appear.

Of you, my child, it will be said

that God Most High sent you ahead

as herald of salvation.

You will before the Lord prepare his way

and tell his people of the day

when he to them his mercy will display.

 

3.  As God has promised, all our sins

will be forgiven, swept away.

He from on high in tender love

will bless us with the glorious day

on which before our very eyes

the radiant Morning Sun will rise

to shine on us forever.

From death’s dark shadow he will grant release

and, when its tyranny shall cease,

will guide our feet into the path of peace.

 

 

Post Note-

Girlie, thanks for the reference to the hymns, loved this especially:

As God has promised, all our sins

will be forgiven, swept away.

He from on high in tender love

will bless us with the glorious day

on which before our very eyes

the radiant Morning Sun will rise

to shine on us forever.